Hunters & Healers: Folklore Types & Topics Page: 58
ix, 172 p. : ill., ports. ; 24 cm.View a full description of this book.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
even after long drives from Texas to Kansas. One did insist that
stone fences often had to be constructed at Dodge City to hold the
beeves awaiting sale.13 Such conflicting accounts would have remained
confined to oral tradition, had not both men in question written their
memoirs. Even so, J. Frank Dobie, in his study The Longhorns, found
such yarns to be of great value.'4 With tales such as these, Dobie wove
a masterful story--containing both history and folklore--about the
bony beasts.
The stories drovers told about themselves frequently revolved about
some bit of levity. Cowboys like to tease, and anecdotes of their comic
baiting of one another abound throughout their reminiscences. Jack
Potter tells about the time he was prevailed upon by some of his
friends to introduce a group of political speakers, and when he ar-
rived, speech in hand and noticeably nervous, he found three of his
cohorts seated directly before the podium. Potter began with a
standard, "Ladies and gentlemen ... ," whereup one of the trio in-
terrupted with a loud, "Listen to Bill Jennings Bryan." Flustered,
Potter stopped, poured and downed a glass of water, and poured
another. The second drover remarked in a voice audible to all pres-
ent, "He ain't goin' to percolate." Potter again gulped a full tumbler
of water to settle his frayed nerves. Then, disgustedly, the third cow-
boy inquired of the other two, "Why in hell didn't we think to take
him down to the river and water him ?" Laughter engulfed the audi-
ence, and Potter, totally unnerved, retired from the rostrum, his
prepared but unpresented speech still in hand.'"
A second class of humor common to most reminiscences of the trail
is the joke at the expense of the trail town. John M. Moore recalled
an episode in Dodge City where Texas cowboys decided to ridicule
a growing but still ineffective temperance movement. The playful
drivers feigned their own reform, announced that an unidentified
but notorious drunkard would soon lecture on the evils of "hard
likker," and papered the town with broadsides to publicize the event.
On the appointed night, Moore affixed a fake mustache and, quite
drunk, walked boldly into a hall crowded with non-drinkers. When
in the middle of his incoherent address he accidentally knocked off
his disguise, he made a hasty but judicious exit through the mostHUNTERS AND HEALERS
58
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Related Items
Other items on this site that are directly related to the current book.
Hunters & Healers: Folklore Types & Topics (Book)
Volume of Texan and Mexican folklore, including stories about hunting, folk medicine, ballads, religion and other folklore. The index begins on page 169.
Relationship to this item: (Has Format)
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Texas Folklore Society. Hunters & Healers: Folklore Types & Topics, book, 1971; Austin, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc38857/m1/74/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Press.